Into The Mystic
by Cleopatra21780
Summary: Sorry it's taken so long but RL has had other plans for me.....A planed trip back to the Plateau years in the future leads to unexpected surpries and twists that only come in the Lost World.
1. Chapter 1

The mists of the dream had barely faded when Jade bolted upright in bed. Her mind still swimming with images of lush green jungle and the cool fingers of rain as they pelted her face. She shook her head as if to physically clear her mind of the images as she slipped out of bed. It seemed as if that was all she ever dreamed of was the jungle. It wasn't just any jungle though, and to be honest she didn't know what jungle it was. She had been all over the world twice in search of the meaning of her dream, only to find that every jungle she went to looked the same to her. The only place she seemed to find any peace was in the lush green jungles of India, amid the towering temples to strong willed gods.  
  
"Another dream?"  
  
The soft voice broke Jade of anymore thoughts, and she suddenly realized she was halfway to the kitchen.  
  
"Is it that obvious?" She sighed, slowly turning to face the voice. Her eyebrow slowly raised. "What are you doing up?"  
  
"Same reason you are." Will smiled stepping out of the shadows. "Dreams."  
  
"Ah I see." Jade nodded and linked her arm through her brother's. "Let me guess, the jungle.or perhaps it was a T-Rex.. no I know it was that cute little blond that's in your biology lecture."  
  
Will glared at his twin. "You shouldn't take these dreams lightly Jade."  
  
"I'm not." Jade grumbled and disentangled herself from her brother. She flipped the light on in the kitchen and walked over to the icebox. Will took a seat at the small table as Jade set the left overs of dinner on the table.  
  
"Will?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You ever think Daddy isn't telling us every thing?" Jade asked quietly, slowly picking at the roast.  
  
Will sighed heavily and slowly met Jade's gray eyes. "Yes, I do. Sometimes, especially when we have these dreams. They almost seem too real at times."  
  
"Like the raptors and T-Rex." Jade stated.  
  
She had talked about this before with her twin, one night after a particular disturbing dream involving her mother and a nasty looking raptor. When she had told her father about the dream he went deathly pale and told her that she had been listening to her Uncle George talk about raptors too much. That was another thing. Her father refused to talk about their mother. When they would ask about her, he would get very still and quiet and ask them to leave him alone. One night she had found him standing in front of the large bay windows looking out at the clear night sky, with tears silently streaming down his face. But that had been years ago.  
  
"Hey." Will reached over grabbing Jade's hand. "You ok? You spaced out for a minuet there."  
  
"Mhmm, I'm ok." She sighed and tried to smile. "I'm guess I'm more tired than I thought." Jade slowly stood and stretched. "I'm going back to bed."  
  
Will nodded and told her good night. He knew there was something bothering his sister. He could read it clearly in her eyes; probably the only one who could read his sister, other than their father. Of course she was the only one who could clearly read him. He sighed and looked at the wall clock. Four in the morning. He placed the rest of the roast in the icebox and headed toward his room, he could at least get another two hours of sleep before classes.  
  
  
  
George Challenger closed his eyes tightly and prayed that everything was over quickly. This had to be worse than anything he had faced in his lifetime, and that had been a lot. His eyes flew open the minuet he heard the loud crash.  
  
"Sorry Professor." The young man apologized as he picked the fallen box back up.  
  
"That's ok," Challenger sighed and moved slowly across the room, away from most of the commotion. "Probably wasn't anything of true importance anyway."  
  
Challenger limped slightly over to the corner desk and picked up the book, flipping through it trying to ignore the mess around him as they tried to move him into his new office at the University.  
  
"Jesus, Challenger."  
  
Challenger smiled as he turned around at the sound of the voice, just in time to see William Roxton come into his office. He watched the young man dodge the numerous boxes and crates and made his way over to him.  
  
"I thought your sister was coming with you?" Challenger asked going back to his book.  
  
"She'll be here in a few minutes." He sighed. "She got stopped." Will was interrupted by his sister's heated voice, quickly followed by an angry male's voice. "By Kinston."  
  
Challenger winced. Jade Roxton was her father made over in everything except temper, and when she was mad she made some of her mother's tantrums look tame. Challenger did find it a bit ironic that the thing that could set her off faster than anything else would be Alexander Kinston.  
  
"You are a vindictive, self-centered, son of a." Jade's rant was cut off by her brother clamping a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Alex, it's good to see you again." Will smiled at the tall man infront of him.  
  
"Will." Alex nodded. His thick Australian accent giving his words a bit of an exotic ring to them, more so than the normal English accent. He was still glaring at Jade with piercing dark blue eyes that would have made a normal person shudder with fear, they only seemed to get to her more.  
  
Jade pulled away from her twin brother and moved closer to Challenger. She gave the older man a soft kiss on the cheek and smiled at him.  
  
"You're looking well Uncle George." She told him.  
  
"You flatter an old man, Jade." Challenger returned the smile.  
  
"So why is it you wanted to see us, Challenger?" Alex spoke up, crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
Challenger sighed. "I need you three to retrieve something for me."  
  
That definitely piqued their interest. All three were eyeing Challenger curiously. It wasn't unheard of for the Roxton twins to run off to some far off land for Challenger, when he needed something. But this was going to be different they could tell.  
  
"Where too?" Will asked.  
  
"Oh somewhere in South America." Challenger answered walking around the desk. "I have a map that I'll give you later."  
  
Jade raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Why do I have a feeling there's something you're not telling us Challenger."  
  
Challenger looked up in surprise at Jade. For a moment he thought that Marguerite was sitting there instead of Jade. "Don't worry, you'll know everything you need to know before you leave. There's still a few details I need to go over with Roxton." There was a sudden crash at the back of the room, causing Challenger to curse loudly and go to the back of the room where one of the helpers were trying to clean up shards of glass.  
  
"Something's up." Jade told the two males quietly. "Something big."  
  
Alex nodded. "For once I agree with you."  
  
"We need to talk to dad. I've got a feeling he knows what's going on." Will replied.  
  
"And have him tell us even less, I don't think so." Jade growled, placing her hands on her slender hips.  
  
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm not being difficult! I'm being reasonable." Jade huffed getting inches away from Alex's face, which was much easier since he was sitting down.  
  
Alex felt his entire body became consumed with rage. Jade pushed every one of his buttons. She was the most infuriating, annoying, beautiful creatures he had ever met. It took every fiber in his being not to silence her with a searing kiss at times. The stance was broken as Challenger wondered back over, rubbing a hand over his face.  
  
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave so I can get some order to this mess." He sighed.  
  
Jade nodded and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Will see you tonight for dinner?"  
  
"Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." 


	2. Chapter 2

Roxton sighed as he paced the length of his study. A feeling of dread was slowly starting to form in the pit of his stomach; it had started the moment Challenger suggested that the twins go back to the Plateau with him this year. It wasn't that he wasn't sure that they could handle themselves, it was just that he was their father and wanted to protect them from the dangers that he knew the Plateau could throw at them.  
  
"Roxton will you sit down. You're starting to make me dizzy." Challenger grumbled.  
  
"I don't like this idea Challenger." Roxton stopped pacing and faced the older man. "Jade and Will haven't been on the Plateau since they were three."  
  
"And they will do just find when they get there." Challenger sighed. "Hell, John, they'll probably do better. As much as you try to ignore it the Plateau is in their blood."  
  
Roxton was saved from responding when the door to the study opened and Will stepped in with a five year old girl holding on tightly around his neck as her feet dangled down his back. She had a large, warn hat covering her almost white blonde hair. She giggled as she looked up from under the brim of the hat and smiled at the older men. Will set down the large trunk he was carrying, then swung the girl around and sat her down on the trunk.  
  
She giggled again as she slid off the trunk and walked up to Roxton. She took off the hat and held it up him.  
  
"Here you go Uncle John, Daddy said this was yours." Maggie Malone smiled brightly at him.  
  
Roxton smiled and took the hat from her. He ran his hands over the familiar hat, it was still in good shape despite the warn look to it.  
  
"Will." Roxton tossed the hat to his son as he looked up. "It's yours."  
  
Will grinned, slicking back his short dark hair before sliding the hat into place. "How's it look?"  
  
"It suits you." Challenger laughed.  
  
"Where's your sister?" Roxton asked.  
  
"She's coming." Will took off the hat. "She had to moved some boxes to get to the other trunk you wanted. Ned and Alex stayed to help."  
  
As if on cue Alex walked in carrying another fairly large trunk, Jade and Malone were close on his heals. Alex dropped the trunk next to the other and sat down.  
  
"You could have helped." He told Jade as she moved in front of him to get to the other trunk.  
  
"You were doing just fine on your own." She smiled and opened the trunk, revealing an assortment of rifles.  
  
She pulled one out and handed it to her brother, who checked its weight and sight. Alex watched her closely as she pulled a pair of pistols out and placed them on the floor next to her as well as another rifle.  
  
"Are we going to need all of this?" Alex asked as Jade picked up the rifle and began to load it.  
  
"The area of South America you are going to is rarely explored so there are a few more dangers than expected." Challenger explained.  
  
"I see." Alex muttered picking up one of the rifles. He'd never really held one before; handguns had been more his style. Which is why he had no idea how to load the damn thing.  
  
Jade watched with amusement as Alex tried his best to load the rifle. When it looked like he was about let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush, she took pity on him and took the rifle from him. She barely had it seconds when before she loaded it and handed it back to him.  
  
"You better learn how to do that I'm not going to be around all the time on the trip." She said and smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"Probably don't even know how to shoot the damn thing." He muttered.  
  
Roxton smiled at the comment, figuring he must have been the only one to have heard it. He'd let Mr. Kinston find out just how well his daughter can handle a gun.  
  
"When do we leave Daddy?" Jade asked as she adjusted the shoulder holster for the pistols.  
  
"Tomorrow morning." Roxton replied, taking a look at the mantle clock. "So I sugest that if we're going to be in any shape to travel tomorrow, that we turn in now."  
  
The rest of the group nodded in agreement. 


	3. Chapter 3

Roxton watched the sun slowly creep up into the sky through the high trees of the South American rain forest. They were more than a day away from the entrance of the Plateau. A long narrow tunnel that lead into a large cave spilling out into the Plateau. Roxton was still uneasy about the twins being on this trip, even though he knew Challenger was probably right.  
  
"I like it here." Jade's soft voice broke through Roxton's haze of thoughts. He turned and smiled at her.  
  
"At least we haven't run into natives yet." He grinned remembering his first journey to the Plateau before they got lost.  
  
"Natives?"  
  
"We ran into some cannibals."  
  
Jade nodded and shifted the shoulder holsters caring her pistols closer to her reach. "You and mom?"  
  
"And Challenger and Ned and Veronica." He replied quickly. "Where is your brother and Alex?"  
  
"Packing the boats." Jade replied quietly.  
  
"Why don't you help them, we'll leave in a hour." Roxton told her before turning and walking off silently.  
  
***  
  
"I hate this bloody heat." Alex complained rolling up his shirtsleeves.  
  
Will laughed tossing him an ore. "This is nothing. We were in Cairo in the middle of the dry season."  
  
"140 degrees in the shade." Jade smiled and climbed in the boat as her father pushed them off shore.  
  
"I knew you two were lunatics." Alex smiled. He tried his best not to let his gazed wonder over Jade's form as she stripped off her blouse revealing a loose sleeveless shell. Her long, thick, straight black hair was pulled up off her neck, and the shoulder holsters seemed to only to draw his gaze to her breasts.  
  
"If you don't quit staring at my sister, I'll let her beat you senseless." Will's voice, laced with amusement, started Alex back into reality.  
  
"Only in my worst nightmares Mate." Alex replied.  
  
"Or in your wildest fantasies." Will laughed. 


End file.
